7 Things That Silently Kill The Value Of Your Home

People always want to know about things that could add value to their home, but rarely do they think if their actions and some external factors might be the one impairing the price of their property. Read on to find out 7 things that secretly kill the value of your home.

1. You live in a flood prone area
Living in a flood prone area could leave a big dent out of your home’s total value, and the computation of its exact amount would depend on the location’s flooding history and the presence or lack of preventive measures undertaken by the local council.

Aside from that, sellers of these kind of properties should get ready to sell their properties with a discount equivalent to the cost of repairs for flooded homes. And I’m telling you, it’s not cheap! The Association of British Insurers, estimate that the average cost of flood damage is between £20,000 and £40,000.

2. Being the “bad” neighbour
Halifax’s Home Insurance Peace of Mind Campaign found that 1 in 5 homeowners in the UK had problems dealing with the neighbours in 2012. Among the most common complaints were: excessive noise, rude or intimidating behaviour, and going out of bounds with legally allowed boundaries.

According to the survey, bad or anti-social neighbours could slash up to £31,000 from the total price tag of your property. This is good news for buyers trying to look for a discount at first glance, but, on second thought, who wants to live near an unruly person? Not me. So if ever you’re experiencing problems with your neighbours, try to sort out the dispute by talking to them, and if it doesn’t work discuss it with your local authorities.

3. “Unsafe” Neighbourhoods
Safety is probably a big concern when it comes to choosing a place to live in. The safer the place, it’s very likely that families and people would choose to come in live there, but if the crime levels go up, a mass exodus could start and demand for property in the area goes down. And well know that when demand goes down, so does property values.

One way to combat this domino effect is to install additional locks, bolts, and alarms to the house. You can also organise a neighbourhood watch scheme. Mobilise the community to ensure the safety and stability of peace and property values in the area.

Location near a good school district is always a plus

4. Low performing school districts
If you still don’t know by now, having good schools is a big deal in the UK. A new report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) that homebuyers would pay an average of 8 per cent premium for a house that’s located within the area of so called “good schools,” and those properties near schools that don’t fare so well with the Ofsted report get the amount hacked off their property prices.

5. Unsanctioned Home Improvements
While there is no immediate effect in going ahead with property projects without a go ahead signal from the local council, it does come back to bite property investors or sellers when the time to sell comes.

Dean Sanderson, managing director of Manchester-based estate agents, Sanderson James, says that “If a property has had illegal changes made to it, new buyers will have to factor in the cost of rectifying the problem.” And when the buyers are forced to pay, they will definitely deduct the cost out of the property price.

6. Letting the animals take over the house
Animals are great companions and they have no impact whatsoever on the selling price of a home on a regular basis. However, when pets are smelly, unfriendly, and simply too many to handle, and the buyers catch a glimpse of this circus, expect offers to dip 5 per cent below asking price.

So if you don’t want your pet to affect the saleability of your house, here’s the best and most simple solution: don’t let your pet/s take over your home!

7. Houses with a dark past
Like people, every house has a colorful story to tell. Some stories have a positive significance on the area where it’s located, while others serve as a reminder of unhappy events which happened before.

Sellers, ordinarily, don’t have to disclose every gossip or ghost story that’s been told about their house, but if the story is common knowledge (like a reported murder) it’s advisable to disclose that story from the beginning.